Video Recipe: Granny and Papa's Cornbread

This southern-style cornbread recipe is a long-standing tradition in my family. It was passed down to me by my Granny and Papa on my mom's side.

It features a shot of bacon drippings and is cooked in a cast-iron skillet in the traditional southern way. My mom (cookbook author and Fine Cooking contributing editor Pam Anderson) added her own twist to the recipe: a cornmeal mush that makes the bread more moist.

Before baking you'll need to render the bacon fat by frying bacon in a pan low and slow. Cooking the bacon over medium-low heat until it's very brown and crispy will yield the most fat.

Pour the bacon fat into an 8-in. cast-iron skillet and put in the oven on the middle rack as the oven preheats to 450 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients-the cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda-leaving 1/3 cup of cornmeal to the side to be used later to make the cornmeal mush.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/3 cup boiling water with the remaining cornmeal and stir to make a stiff mush. Then stir in the buttermilk and egg.

When the oven is preheated, remove the skillet and add the smoking-hot bacon drippings into the batter and mix. Then quickly pour the batter into the heated skillet. When the batter sizzles in the skillet you know you're in for a good, crispy crust.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and immediately turn the cornbread onto a wire rack to cool.